Juliet Letters: Elvis Costello: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Deliver Us

2. For Other Eyes

3. Swine

4. Expert Rites

5. Dead Letter

6. I Almost Had A Weakness

7. Why?

8. Who Do You Think You Are?

9. Taking My Life In Your Hands

10. This Offer Is Unrepeatable

11. Dear Sweet Filthy World

12. The Letter Home

13. "Jacksons, Monk And Rowe"

14. This Sad Burlesque

15. Romeo's Seance

16. I Thought I'd Write To Juliet

17. Last Post

18. The First To Leave

19. Damnation's Cellar

20. The Birds Will Still Be Singing

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From Amazon.com

Good on Elvis for risking the ridicule of a blinkered pop world with this unprecedented (for him, certainly, and most anyone short of Kurt Weill) and quite lovely album of bitchy, wise, and funny art songs accompanied by strings. His freshest, most evolved work in years. --Jeff Bateman

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3 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Give it a Try, Mar 2 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Juliet Letters (Audio CD)

I've been listening to a lot of Philip Glass and Steve Reich lately,and its caused me to go back to this album to give it another go.Previously I thought that it was an interesting experiment which hadn't worked out very well.Now I think that it is a good album for rockers and classical music lovers to use to stretch their ears a little.So called crossover albums are usually horrifying-does anyone else remember that album that Procol Harum did with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra? Elvis flatly denounces the concept in the liner notes.And not everything on this album works.It isn't the brilliant work that some of the other reviewers seem to think that it is.But it is a worthwhile experiment and a work that should be given a fair chance.Rockers and classical music lovers tend to be snobbish and dismissive of one another.This is a good work for them to live with for a while.When Elvis and the Brodsky's click-on "Jackson Monk and Rowe" or "Romeos Seance"-the results are as beautiful and valid as anything either of them have ever done.
Three stars because some of this simply doesn't work. But this is a work anyone who likes Elvis or the Brodsky's should have in their collection.

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5.0 out of 5 stars I know Elvis..., Dec 4 2003

By

P. Wilson "pawil71" (Teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Juliet Letters (Audio CD)

I am a great admirer of Elvis Costello. Like many of us, I like it better when he is with the Attractions, rocking out than when he is with Burt Bacharach getting self conscious and arty. I am also a classical musician, deeply skeptical of "crossover" albums. In fact, I don't think I can name one crossover album I like. Except this one. And I love it. I think this record has several of Costello's best lyrics AND melodies. "Taking my life in your hands" would make Lennon, McCartney, and Mahler all equally proud. It defies genre and comes scarily close to what I am tempted to call "pure expression." Of course, that's a ridiculous notion, but this song is such an emotional and aesthetic slam dunk that I am awed. Also I love "Damnation's Cellar" and "Who do you think you are?" There are some duds here, and I'd have to say the first two tracks will scare a lot of people off. Hang in there. It was a year or two after this album was released that I learned to love it, and time after time, it holds up better for me than any other Costello release.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Brave, but not for everyone., Nov 25 2003

By

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juliet Letters (Audio CD)

I give this a forth star because I still pull it out for the occasional listen. But it remains one of the most difficult CD's in Elvis' careening musical experimentation. What usually happens is I find myself wondering where these songs would have fit had they been recorded for other Costello albums. "Jacksons Monk and Rowe" obviously would have made it as a "Get Happy" song. "For Other Eyes;" "Imperial Bedroom." A folksy arrangement might have sent "Damnation's Cellar" to "King Of America." And so on and so forth....

But the song sequence works wonderfully and the playing of the Brodskies never sinks to pedestrian. These folks obviously understood that they were going to have to throw preconceived ideas about playing with a "rocker," just as Elvis was trying to (as he put it) avoid the dreaded "crossover" sound. My major gripe with the album is that Elvis' voice isn't always up to the task ("North" fares much better in that department). And anyone looking for a "typical" Costello platter is in for a major shock. Of course, anyone trying to define a "typical" Costello disc is probably going to have a rough go of it.....

That doesn't stop "The Juliet Letters" from featuring some fine work, including "The Birds Will Still Be Singing," which deserves a shot with a voice like Josh Groban's or Michael Buble's. Or maybe now that Elvis has his new beau, she'll do a full set of her favorites from the Costello/MacManus discography. Now wouldn't THAT be a hoot?

Juliet Letters [Import]

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